A couple years ago, I was invited to speak at a conference where the hosts encouraged the attendees to “name their year.”

The purpose was to come up with a name that would inspire and motivate the attendees for the next 52 weeks. When they were finished, people were asked to go to the stage and tell the others what name they had given their year.

I was inspired and decided to name my year. But what could I name it?

Maybe it should be the year I got in shape or the 20-pound year, where I lost 20 pounds. But as I thought about this, I gave into the fact that focusing on 20 pounds would encourage me to eat more.

Perhaps it should be the year of the bucket list, where I knocked a couple things off my list. But then the thought of skydiving killed that idea.

Perhaps I should name it the year of the pig after the Chinese New Year. I would have more ham and pork, eat more bacon. I would dig in the garden and root around for more business. However, I thought of the pile of laundry that would get bigger, the large messes I would probably get into, and after a few weeks without a shower, I would probably smell like a pig. Not a good idea.

Then I thought: the year of awe and wonder. As I wrote my words down, I knew I was onto something. I contemplated awe and wonder. I thought of all the possibilities that a year of awe and wonder would entail. I wanted to be awestruck and revisit that sense of wonder that children have. I also wanted to be an awesome and wonderful husband, father, friend, son, boss, partner and business coach. I wanted to appreciate all that would be awesome during the year.

As the conference ended, people flocked to the stage and announced the year of love, healing, prosperity, laughter, happiness, family, positivity, mental health and even the year of money. Their intention was to live their word every day of the year.

I went home and taped the words awe and wonder to my computer screen so I could see them every day of the year.

The year, in fact, was full of wonder and awe. Things happened that I couldn’t even imagine and as I looked at them through the lens of awe and wonder, my perspective was changed. Events that perhaps I would have looked at as being negative were contemplated and then seen as wonderful, if not awesome.

I didn’t instantly think the first sign of trouble was discouraging. Instead, I challenged myself to see the awe and wonder in discomfort.

I also named 2018: blessings. I wanted to be a blessing and count my blessings, and blessed I was.

Naming your year can make a huge difference in how you look at things. I wish I had started this years ago. It’s not that life would have turned out differently, but perhaps I would have looked at things with a new focus.

We only have a limited number of years to live and breaking them down into time frames of intention could make all the difference to business and, more importantly, life. I’m going to try it again for 2019 and I encourage you to do the same.

What will you name your year? What words will you use to inspire and motivate you for the next 52 weeks? I’d love to hear from you!

Troy Media columnist David Fuller, MBA, is a certified professional business coach and author who helps business leaders ensure that their companies are successful. David is author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy.Email dave@profityourselfhealthy.com